While my monthly wrap-ups usually include my favorite articles, podcasts, recipes, and more from the previous month, I thought I would change things up and wrap-up the entire year of 2018 today! So, for the first post of 2019, I’ll be using my previous article, “Reflect, Set Intentions, and Establish Your Goals” and the processes from the books I mentioned, and taking you through my specific and official goal setting process for 2019 and much more.
Without further ado, let’s get started with the first With Cheryl post of the year!
REFLECT
I started off my goal setting process by reflecting and asking myself a few questions:
- What worked in 2018?
- What didn’t work in 2018?
- What do I want in 2019?
- What do I not want in 2019?
I brainstormed my answers to each question for about 10 minutes. I wrote down whatever came to my mind and didn’t structure myself at all (some answers were bullets and others were long paragraphs).
When doing this exercise, it’s important to not filter yourself or overthink anything. Whatever comes to mind, write it down and move on.
SET YOUR INTENTION
After getting all of my answers out of my head, I read through what I wrote and thought about what 1 word, phrase, or question might address everything I wanted to accomplish in 2019. After brainstorming for as long as I needed to get the answer I felt happy with (about 10-15 minutes for me), I wrote the following intention down on a clean page:
“Only say yes to what will help me be the best version of me.”
ESTABLISH YOUR GOALS
With my reflection answers in front of me and my intention in mind, I set out to establish 3 goals that I want to focus on for the year—and ONLY 3! This was definitely a challenge, but 2018 was the first year I could easily recall all of my goals if asked, and I know that had everything to do with the fact that the number of goals I set were manageable.
I also tried to ensure my goals were specific (see the numbers below), realistic (all goals are based on research and previous success), and easy to recall (again, only 3 goals!).
This process can be hard because you have to narrow down so many ideas into 3 very specific goals, but use the work you’ve done so far and think about this time next year. What do you hope you will have accomplished by then? That should be your guide.
Here are my final goals for 2019:
1. Maintain my morning routine for 300 of 365 days.
I did this for 200+ days last year and I want to improve upon that in 2019. If you want to see what I do in the mornings, check out my previous post, “A Look Into My Morning Routine” (and keep your eye out for an updated routine later this year).
2. Continue to produce new and engaging content for With Cheryl (on the blog and beyond) in order to double my subscribers and reach 1,000 followers on Instagram.
If you aren’t a subscriber already, you can sign up here and you can follow me on Instagram here! I would so appreciate your help in making this goal a reality!
3. Invest in me by continually asking myself “Will this help me be the best version of me?”
You may notice that this sounds a lot like my intention from the previous step—that’s on purpose! I loved this answer so much that I wanted it to be part of my goals too. Plus, I’ve recently discovered that having a guiding question is a really effective way to keep myself on track, so having this as part of my goals will help me be successful too.
BONUS STEP: TRACK
While actually setting your goals and intentions for the new year is important, this work will be pointless if you don’t have a way to see whether or not you are staying on track.
So, decide on a system to actually track where you are for each goal. For example, I will track my morning routine and With Cheryl following with a specific system in my bullet journal (I’ll show you exactly how on Instagram soon). And, I will journal each night before bed about how effective I was at saying yes to only the things that will help me be the best me (stay tuned for a look into my nighttime routine this year too!)
While I loved showing you how I set myself up for success in 2019, I didn’t want you to miss out on the usual wrap-up set up entirely! Keep reading to learn whether or not I accomplished my December goals and check out everything that happened on With Cheryl!
NEW FROM WITH CHERYL
BLOG POSTS
- “Disconnect to Reconnect“
- “Get Inspired for 2019: Reflect, Set Intentions, and Establish Your Goals“
- “November 2018 Wrap-Up“
FEATURED STORIES
BOOK REVIEWS
- Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky (Rating: 5 Stars)
TINY TIPS
- Buy travel space saver bags for your next trip (I purchased these bags.)
MY GOALS
DECEMBER IN REVIEW
1. Add new post on Instagram at least 1 time a week
- DONE! I am so excited to keep this up for all of you in the new year too. I’ve loved interacting with each of you on this platform and I’m definitely going to focus on developing a strategy to continue that in 2019.
2. Wake up early at least 15 of the days before our Honeymoon
- DONE! If I had to pick one takeaway from the month of December, it would be that my mornings are invaluable. There’s no way I could have accomplished everything I did this month without starting my day early. (Want to give this a try in the new year? Check out my tips for waking up early and take a look at my morning routine—which has changed a bit since this post, so I’ll be sharing an update in 2019.)
3. Check off at least 3 things a week on my “With Cheryl Research List” (pre-Honeymoon)
- NOT DONE. While I do wish I had gotten a little further on this, I’m not sad I didn’t accomplish this goal. Other things came up that were more of a priority and those got handled, which was a win for me!
JANUARY GOALS
- Get back on track with morning routine for 25 of 31 days
- Work out at least 3 days a week
- Check off at least 1 thing a week from my “With Cheryl Ideas” list each week
With Cheryl 
Thanks for the great thoughts for the new year.
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